Novel rhamnolipids for a sustainable bioeconomy

Today’s society faces several challenges in implementing and enforcing environmental protection for future generations. In this respect, supplementation of petro-based chemicals by bio-based ones is of special importance to reduce the consumption of crude oil. Among such measures, chemical surfactants can be replaced by biosurfactants, e.g. rhamnolipids which are produced via fermentation from renewable resources and used as ingredients in household detergents, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics. Thus, approaches to increase the diversity and availability of tailor-made biosurfactants will promote the transition to a bio-based economy. In this project, we will investigate potentially O-methylated rhamnolipids which are less aggressive than their chemical counterparts and anionic “conventional”” rhamnolipids. Specific objectives are the production and structural determination of O-methylated rhamnolipids from unexplored bacteria of Burkholderia species and the introduction of the respective biosynthetic genes into a non-pathogenic bacterial host to establish a production platform. The results obtained will help to achieve a sustainable economy and will further boost the existing research collaborations between Canada and Germany.
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Faculty Supervisor:

Eric Deziel

Student:

Partner:

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Achieving Net Zero; Sustainability & the Environment; Biotechnology

University:

Université du Québec : Institut national de la recherche scientifique

Program: